


Afterlife Duel

by Firebull



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga), Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Abidos POV, Death from Old Age, First Kiss, Getting Together, Immortal Juudai, M/M, Pining, and then Yugi shows up in the afterlife to be with Atem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 11:45:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16912275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firebull/pseuds/Firebull
Summary: After departing from the world of the living Abidos has a lot of time to work on his dueling skills until his next duel with Judai. Good for him there were more than just a few souls around who were both experts at the game and willing to teach him. The soul of a fellow pharaoh proved to be the best teacher.(Or maybe the reason they got along so well was because they were both pining over people who were still alive.)





	Afterlife Duel

The 100 years Judai asked Abidos to wait for him passed faster then he first expected. With such a clear goal in mind and to work towards, it wasn't anything like the 3000 years of agonizing waiting and lost wandering between the world of the living and the dead. Plus, he did have to get better at duelling, otherwise he wouldn't be a challenge for someone of Judai's skill level. Good for him there were more than just a few souls around who were both experts at the game and willing to teach him.

The best teacher by far was the soul of a fellow pharaoh named Atem. 

He was very understanding of his situation. Abidos was surprised to learn that the other both duelled with and against Judai in the past. Atem told him the stories with a fond expression on his face, though Abidos was unsure if it was because of Judai, the rush of a great duel or the partner he used to share a body with that always got him sidetracked. Then again it probably was a combination of all three. 

Learning about the rules and the possibilities itself was the easy part, not automatically falling into 3000 year old habits was harder than he expected. He often found himself automatically activating combos that he _knew_ wouldn't work in that situation before his conscious brain could stop it. But it was alright. He still had almost a century to break all of those habits.

Sometimes Abidos found himself watching tournaments to learn new things, sometimes he'd watch Judai travel the twelve dimensions until his view got blocked by darkness, sometimes Atem and him would watch Yugi and Judai as they went on an adventure or simply duelled for fun. The love on Atem's face as he looked at Yugi got too much to be around at times. Not that Abidos had much room to talk what with his badly hidden love for Judai.

The years passed and the people around Judai started growing older and dying off. Abidos visited some of them to challenge them. Going up against one opponent no matter how great would only get him so far. He was surprised when some of them remembered him, but maybe he shouldn't have been. The afterlife did tend to make one's memories clearer.

Atem and him grew closer as they remained the only ones waiting for their loves to reach them, though it would be a much more permanent stay for Yugi than it would be for Judai. Abidos was aware that Judai as he was now would have a very hard time dying, or even something as simple as aging.

They both watched Yugi's last moments with the living. It was the middle of the night in the little house he bought some 10 years before when moving around too much became too painful. Judai was at his side, still looking as young as he did back when he first fused with Yubel. He was the only one of Yugi's oldest friends left alive and Abidos suspected that part of the reason he held onto life for so long was so that Judai wouldn't be left alone quite so soon. Or at least to minimize his time alone until Yusei would be old enough to remember him.

The king of games was saying his final good bye to the spirits of his cards. Thanking them one last time before giving them to Judai for save keeping until they chose another duelist. They didn't talk after that for quite some time. Just Judai holding one of Yugi's hands as the elder slowly weakened.

"Just go to him. You made him wait long enough," they heard Judai say.

Yugi let out a weak laugh. "I guess you're right." His grip tightened slightly. "Just...take care of yourself, okay?"

Judai huffed, as if offended by the mere suggestion. "You worry too much. I'll be fine. It might take a while, but I'll be fine."

"You better or I'll be forced to come back and do it myself."

Judai grinned slightly. "It's a promise then."

Yugi grinned back, his grip on Judai's hand slacking. Judai stroked Yugi's hair with his free hand. Yugi started to relax with the slow rhythm, allowing it to lull him to sleep. And then he was gone.

It didn't take long for a way younger looking Yugi to show up in the room they were currently in. It never did with souls which belonged with someone already there. Atem wasted no time to run over to him and to take him into his arms. Abidos chose to leave them alone as hands ran over each other's bodies and kisses and love confessions where exchanged. Though he made sure to wave away the window to the other world first. There was no need to let them watch as Judai quietly broke apart. 

Back in his own rooms, Abidos wished he could take Judai into his own arms and dry his tears. He couldn't imagine the pain of being eternal and so full of love, just to have to watch all those you gave it to get lost to time.

After a while Atem and Yugi visited him together, hands intertwined and practically glowing so much with happiness that Ra could get jealous. The king of games wasted no time in challenging him to a duel to 'make sure he was up to standard'.

It was a long, hard duel that made him want to go back to the old days of just taking a nap for a century or three. By now all of his bad habits were broken and his deck as balanced as he could make it without throwing its theme out of the window. In the end it wasn't enough to best Yugi, but it was enough to get his approval.

Over the next couple of years Yugi would randomly challenge him to a duel. "You don't want to tell Judai that you'll need some time to get ready for him once he actually shows up, do you?" Yugi had said with a disturbing smile on his face that made Atem laugh in the background. Abidos hated to admit that those duels did help.

When the day finally came that Judai crossed the borders between life and the afterlife, Abidos was ready. Or as ready as he could be.

Their duel was even more enjoyable than their first one with Abidos being able to match Judai step for step this time. The wide smile on Judai's face told him that he enjoyed the duel as much as him. He even used Yubel, something that he normally only did when the fate of a planet or the universe hinged on his win. Or when he got really really annoyed over people acting like attack points are everything.

In the end Judai's incredible luck pulled through, dropping Abidos' life points down to 0. Both of them were a little winded from the intensity of the duel. Judai's eyes shone with that spark that caught Abidos' attention in the first place.

"You've gotten really good," Judai said as they both moved to meet in the middle of their small arena.

"I did promise to get better and I did have some people who were willing to teach me."

"Heh, I'm glad you found someone to keep you company, even if I can't hold my end of the deal." Judai looked away from him then.

He took Judai's hands in his as he did all those years ago. They were soft and warm with what he suspected to be life. Everyone had the same body heat, neither cold nor hot, they just were. But Judai was so very warm. It reminded him of the desert heat, made him want to bask in it for eternity.

"Don't worry. I understand why you can't stay, just visit me whenever you can manage and I'll be happy."

Judai smiled at him gratefully, squeezing his hands in return. Slowly, Abidos intertwined their fingers. His gaze focused on Judai taking in every little reaction. He saw more than heard Judai's breath catch as his hands moved just enough to fit them together perfectly.

"May I kiss you?"

Judai's eyes darted down to Abidos' lips and back up. "Yes," he said as he stepped closer. His hands moved from where Abidos was holding him, sliding up his bare arms to rest on his shoulders. Abidos wrapped his arms around Judai's waist, pressing their bodies together as he closed the gap between their lips.

Judai's lips were softer than he had imagined them to be. With all the fighting in the strangest of climates he had thought that they'd get rougher as time went on. Yet he couldn't deny the strength behind them as they lazily moved with his own. 

But beneath that, beneath the physical touch, was the feeling of Judai's true powers. The Gentle Darkness flowed through Abidos, filling him with life that had long since faded. He hadn't felt this alive since before he put on the dark crown 3000 years ago. And all that life was focused on the one he longed to hold for so long.

This moment was perfect. Abidos felt as if it could last forever.

Well, at least he did until Atem and Yugi decided to barge in to see how their duel went. Judai was startled enough to loose his hold over his powers and faded from the afterlife. Abidos glared at the two intruders who tried (and failed) to hide their laughter in their hands. The next time Judai came around, Abidos made sure that there would be no distractions.


End file.
